Guide: The Beast Within by Azulmagia
Introduction Greetings, fellow Blue Mage! So you're ready to take on the latest Assault mission, eh? Well, you best be, because the target's you! The Beast Within is notoriously infamous — It can be best summed by the phrase "somebody dies, and fast". Who will, exactly, depends on both how you prepare for the fight, and how the stars are aligned for you today. It is very unfortunate that luck plays a beyond enormous role in this Genkai event, and it's very important not to lose faith in yourself should you lose. I personally lost seven times! There are a few important things to note about the differences between Shattering Stars and The Beast Within: *Firstly, Maat has absolutely nothing to do with this quest. You fight Raubahn, not Maat. *Any rumours about him copying your equipment stats (like with Maat) are false. *The fight is incredibly quick. He does not hesitate to use weapon skills at any point during the fight. And a few things about Raubahn himself that you should know: *He uses a sword, so he has Savage Blade vs. Asuran Fists. He can and will use other weaponskills, though. *His spell set is unrestricted and will use most spells level 70 and below. *He has a very potent Fast Cast and will cast spells in about a second (or faster). **Head Butt has a casting time of .5 seconds — it is possible (but difficult) to stun his spells. *He hits like a truck — figure 100-200 with Cocoon up, 150-250 without it. Obtaining a Testimony BLU, COR, and PUP by far have the most difficult testimonies to obtain. Only a single monster will drop your test: Mamool Ja Mimickers. There are two areas to choose from: Wajaom Woodlands and Mamook. There are pros and cons to both. Wajaom Mimickers are lower level, which means less people are needed for help. Additionally, the repop time is only five minutes, allowing ample healing time without having to wait very long for a repop. Unfortunately, there are only four total spawns throughout the entire zone, and they're all spread apart meaning you'll have to make do with a single mob (by the time you heal and reach a different camp, the one you just killed will have repopped by then). The most effective camp for me was the Aydeewa Subterrane zone at (H-10). There is a lone Mamool Ja Mimicker along with a Woodland Runner here. The good thing is that the raptor generally keeps away from going too far west — you should have ample pulling space using a ranged weapon. Fights here can be safely duo'd at 70. Note: It is actually possible for a BLU70/THF35 to solo these using Zephyr Mantle and Diamondhide, however, it is extremely difficult due to Firespit (inflicts 300-500 damage). Firespit is absorbable by three shadows. Do not silence them, but take care not to get silenced yourself — breath spells go through shadows and wipe them, so take care to Head Butt when necessary. Soloing these is not recommended for anyone not used to taking anything higher than Decent Challenge — they will always con Tough to a BLU70. Mamook Mimickers are relatively abundant, providing you with an ample series of fights before having to wait for repops. On the other hand, they're a couple levels higher than the ones in Wajaom, meaning you'll need more help for these fights. Other Mamools roam closeby, so there's a high probability of getting links. Additionally, Mamook is a beastmen stronghold — which equates to 12 minute repop timers. This camp is recommended for larger groups only. Mimickers can be found throughout the central (and surrounding) areas of the first map. The easiest way to get there is by taking the Mamool Ja Staging Point. Farming a testimony could potentially take hours. I have gone 1/1 and 1/47. At the time of writing this guide, the drop rate is recorded to be about 5% for both areas. Check the Mamool Ja Mimicker page for the latest drop rate records. (You could also do your fellow Blue Mages a favour by updating the rates with your farming records.) Preparation Now that you've actually gotten your testimony, it's time for the fight. The strategy (if you could call it that) is very simple: buff, zerg, and hope you get him before he gets you. How the fight is opened, by both you and Raubahn, will definitely set the stage for the rest of the (short) fight. Items! These are the items I recommend you bring for the fight: * Opo-opo Necklace * Sleeping Potion x 4 * Icarus Wing * Carbonara * Pear au Lait * Melon Juice * Yagudo Drink * Echo Drops * Vile Elixir * Vile Elixir +1 Notes: Yes, I know Vile Elixirs are expensive. However, only instant items are useful in this fight — anything that takes longer than a second or two to use is basically a signal of surrender and your butt is liable to getting kicked. Of course, you may actually pull off using a Hi-Elixir, but you'll only be restoring what you've lost during usage. Echo Drops are often an overlooked item for this fight; not understanding the fact that Raubahn can Silence you may prove very fatal. Equipment! This is the equipment I used for my fight. The full Magus Attire Set will work perfectly fine should you have nothing better. *Ifrit's Blade *Varlet's Targe *Magus Keffiyeh *Magus Jubbah *Creek M Mitts *Magus Shalwar *Magus Charuqs *Sweet Sachet *Chivalrous Chain *Pigeon Earring *Pigeon Earring *Garrulous Ring *Ecphoria Ring *Smilodon Mantle +1 *Potent Belt Note: Non-Tarus can easily substitute Pallas's Bracelets or Light Gauntlets for the gloves and Phantom Tathlum (or STR/INT RSE) for the ammo piece. Elvaan and Galka may need to substitute some of the STR for MP. (The writer of this guide is a Tarutaru, so less STR than normal should be fine.) Spells! Below are the spells I used for the fight. It's a pretty generic setup and is similar to what almost anyone else who does this uses. *Diamondhide (3) *Refueling (4) *Warm-Up (4) *Cocoon (1) *Zephyr Mantle (2) *Frost Breath (3) *Head Butt (3) *Hysteric Barrage (5) *Frenetic Rip (3) *Death Scissors (5) *Dimensional Death (5) *Mandibular Bite (2) Notes: Zephyr Mantle + Frost Breath creates Conserve MP, Dimensional Death + Frenetic Rip creates Accuracy Bonus. Note that Auto Refresh is ''not set: This is where your Yagudo Drink and Sanction comes in. Refueling may seem a bit superfluous, but remember that your heavy hitting spells have fairly long recast timers considering the short-lived fight. If you'd rather something else, you could try Sickle Slash or STR/DEX spells in its place.'' Macros! Efficient macro usage is key to time conservation. Scrolling through menus uses up valuable spellcasting time. Build an array that works for you. Here are some of my suggestions: *Use the top line for your physical attack spells and put them all in a row (the order in which you will cast them). *Use the bottom row for your opening gambits and items. **Include a macro that initiates Burst Affinity and Azure Lore that follows up with Frost Breath. **Use Hysteric Barrage in your Chain Affinity + Vorpal Blade macro. **Use Vorpal Blade in your Icarus Wing macro. *You do not need macros for the Pear au Lait or Refresh drinks. *It may be wise to include a macro for Cocoon. The Beast Within The Fight Now it's time to get to business! The fight will take place in Jade Sepulcher. If this is your first attempt, you must trade your testimony to the Imperial Whitegate in Aht Urhgan Whitegate for a cutscene. (If this is a repeated attempt, you may start directly from Jade Sepulcher although it is easier just to warp there by trading the testimony.) Eat your Carbonara before entering and heal to full HP — you won't be healing inside. The opening cutscene for the fight is fairly long. If you're really paranoid about running out of time (you won't), then spam Confirm to breeze through it. When you're finished, put your Opo-Opo Necklace on and drink four Sleeping Potions, each at 30 second intervals. (Remember to put your other neckpiece back on after you're finished!) Use Refueling, then drink your Melon Juice. Use Diamondhide and Zephyr Mantle, then walk up to the front of the tunnel (do not get aggro!), and use Warm-Up and Cocoon. Use your Pear au Lait and Yagudo Drink now. * If any of this seems funny to you, remember that Warm-Up and Cocoon won't last that long. The Melon Juice takes place of resting for MP — if you rest, Sanction will not keep you from losing your TP. Keep in mind that Raubahn is also buffing during this time, just like you. Walk a couple steps into the battle area. Not so close as to get aggro, but close enough so that you're in range for using Frost Breath. Draw your sword, and use Burst Affinity → Azure Lore → Frost Breath in that order. * This is to kill any shadows and stoneskin he has up and inflict a fair amount of damage, as well. It will also make him come to you instead of you having to come to him. Bear in mind that he has a pretty good resist rate, and has fully resisted a Frost Breath of mine before, even with Azure Lore active. An unresisted Frost Breath will deal roughly 200-300 damage depending on your race. Here's the big part: Once he's in range, use Chain Affinity and Vorpal Blade, following up with Hysteric Barrage to create a Detonation skillchain. Hit your Icarus Wing + Vorpal Blade macro afterwards to skillchain again (Scission this time). If all goes well, he should be at 40-45% HP at this point in time. (Do not be deceived by his low HP — bear in mind that he can just as quickly destroy you.) This is the single-most pivotal moment in the fight as it's your one chance to do this kind of damage. * Make sure you let him come to you — if you get hasty, he very well may run behind you instead, possibly ruining your entire skillchain. Should you lose, you will not be able to use another Icarus Wing for two hours. (You have to wait two hours for Azure Lore, anyways.) Now it's a battle of endurance and speed. You will have to think and act fast, and get lucky, too. Use Head Butt to stun him and perhaps interrupt whatever he may have been casting (I have interrupted a Radiant Breath like this. Getting interrupted yourself is seriously unaffordable and will throw off your train of thought.) Then, it's simply a matter of using your physical spells in order from strongest to weakest while keeping tabs on recast timers for Head Butt and Hysteric Barrage. * ''At this point, all you can hope for is that he falls before you do. It seems that getting him to 20% is the magic number to win. Savage Blade Savage Blade hurts. It is the single-most deadly skill in his arsenal, dealing 500-700 damage, and can bring an end to you instantly. Keep your elixirs handy should you see it. Pray also that you have Cocoon up. Fortunately, he seems to favour the other sword skills just as much and can use Fast Blade, Red Lotus Blade, Flat Blade, Seraph Blade, or Vorpal Blade instead. Not to say these don't hurt, of course — the stun from Flat Blade can render you a sitting duck (for a few seconds) and the others oft do ~300-400 damage. Nonetheless, anything that isn't Savage Blade is a good thing. Don't let your guard down, though — he can weaponskill more than once in a fight. I saw Savage Blade in two of my eight fights with him. ''Note: Raubahn is not like Maat and the others who typically spam weaponskills when time is about to expire. He can use weaponskills '''immediately', and I have been three-shotted this way before (hit for 170, hit for 245, Savage Blade for 700, KO'd without him casting a single spell). Radiant Breath The other worst-thing-to-see in the fight, Radiant Breath not only deals heavy damage (300-500), but it also inflicts Silence and Slow. For this reason, it is highly recommended that you bring Echo Drops to your fight and have a macro for them. If you cannot cast spells, you will lose. (Note that the damage can be resisted partially.) I would imagine Bad Breath to be worse, but I haven't heard any accounts of him using it. I have heard accounts of Chaotic Eye, though, so Silence does pose a common threat here. I saw Radiant Breath in three of my eight fights with him. Geist Wall Geist Wall seems to be his most common opening spell. Watch your Cocoon! If it falls, you will take about 1.5x the damage you would with it. This is where that Cocoon macro I suggest would come in handy. I saw Geist Wall in five of my eight fights. Regarding Item Usage Hopefully you brought your medicines, because you will more than likely need them (unless you are extremely lucky). Magic Fruit is not recommended for use during the fight — it simply takes too long to cast and you'll lose whatever you healed right after (or before it). Vile Elixir: Use it as soon as you fall below 75% HP. It's never going to restore more than 25%, and the goal is to keep your HP as high as possible to avoid getting slammed by a heavy spell or weaponskill. Vile Elixir +1: Likewise, use it as soon as you fall below 50% HP. It will be a very welcome breath of fresh air. Echo Drops: Do not attempt without these. If you are silenced, you will lose. Icarus Wing/Opo-Opo Necklace: One of these is practically mandatory, having both is optional. However, my experiences show that weaponskill/skillchain damage tends to be the most reliable way of inflicting damage, and using both will allow you to skillchain twice. Most importantly, you can do more damage for less MP. If you had to choose one over the other, go with the wing. I still recommend that you use both. Carbonara: With HP, MP, Attack, and STR, this food is great. I've also tried Pescatora, but felt that my damage output was simply too low without STR/attack boosting food. Geared for HP, this food will make a Tarutaru break 1000 HP. Additional Strategy: Using Reraise Bring a Reraise item! Reraise items are usable in most battlefields, and this one's no exception. Depending on how you prepared, though, you may not be able to wait for Weakened to wear off before your time limit expires. However, there is something key about physical blue magic: attack and accuracy aren't affected by weakness (refer to the Pandemonium Warden defeat recently). If you need to do just a bit more damage to win, but you died... consider Reraising, have Cannonball set, and then fire it safely from a distance (it has greater range than Frost Breath!). Just remember to use Cocoon prior to doing so, else you'll result in lackluster damage. If you use a Scroll of Instant Reraise, then you've got one last ditch shot. If you're using a Reraise Earring, Reraise Gorget, or Reraise Hairpin, you can retry this as many times as you have charges and time left to do so. *''Bear in mind that you must have Cannonball set initially for this strategy to be effective. You will not be able to wait for weakness or spell reset timers because Raubahn will regen HP if you take too long.'' Closing Notes All I have left to say is good luck. I know it can be tough, and I know it can be frustrating — more than once I felt half-ready to just level another job up to 70. But then what kind of Blue Mage would I be? Come prepared, don't panic, know your macros, and you should have a fighting chance in this. The feeling for winning such a difficult fight is great and you'll have an awesome new title to go with it. Furthermore, I'd like to express my thanks to you for reading my guide. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to message me (or send me a /tell ingame if you happen to play on Fairy.) /salute 15:36, 22 February 2009 (UTC)